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15 During the 27th year of Jeroboam, king of Israel, Azariah (Amaziah’s son) inherited the throne of Judah. 2 Azariah was only 16 years old when he inherited the throne, and his reign in Jerusalem lasted 52 years. His mother was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. 3 He did what was good in the Eternal’s eyes and followed in the footsteps of his father, Amaziah.
4 But the high places remained. They were not destroyed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. 5 Sadly, the Eternal One afflicted the king with a skin disease until his dying day. He lived in a quarantined house so that he would not make anyone else ritually unclean; and his son, Jotham, took care of Azariah’s household and acted as judge over all the people in Judah.
6 Is not the rest of Azariah’s story—his actions and lasting legacy—documented in the book of the chronicles of Judah’s kings? 7 Azariah left this world to sleep with his fathers, and his body was laid to rest with his ancestors in the city of David, as was tradition. Azariah’s son, Jotham, then inherited the throne.
8 During Azariah’s 38th year as king of Judah, Zechariah (Jeroboam’s son) inherited the throne of Israel in Samaria. His reign only lasted six months. 9 He committed evil in the Eternal’s eyes, just as those who reigned before him did. He walked the wicked path of Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) causing the Israelites to live sinful lives. 10 Shallum (Jabesh’s son) plotted against Zechariah and assassinated him in front of everyone. Shallum then inherited the throne.
11 Is not the rest of Zechariah’s story—his actions and lasting legacy—documented in the book of the chronicles of Israel’s kings?
12 This is the promise that the Eternal One had given to Jehu: “Your sons, until the fourth generation, will reign over Israel.” And that is exactly what happened.
The Eternal One keeps His promise. Four generations after Jehu ruled—Jehoahaz, Joash, Jeroboam, and Zechariah—Jabesh’s son ends the dynasty.
13 Shallum (Jabesh’s son) took over the throne during the 39th year of Uzziah (also known as Azariah), Judah’s king. Shallum’s reign lasted one month in Samaria. 14 Menahem (Gadi’s son) arrived in Samaria from Tirzah and assassinated Shallum (Jabesh’s son). Menahem then inherited the throne. 15 Is not the rest of Shallum’s story—including the coup he planned—documented in the book of the chronicles of Israel’s kings?
16 Menahem then attacked Tiphsah and everyone who was living there, all the way to Tirzah. He savagely attacked them because they would not let him in. He, in a nightmarish act, tore apart every pregnant woman he could find.
17 During Azariah’s 39th year as Judah’s king, Menahem (Gadi’s son) took over Israel’s throne in Samaria. His reign lasted 10 years. 18 He committed evil in the Eternal’s eyes. He walked the wicked path of Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) causing the Israelites to live sinful lives.
19 Tiglath-pileser,[a] Assyria’s king, waged war against Israel, but Menahem tried to pay tribute with 37 tons of silver so that Tiglath-pileser would help make Menahem’s rule stronger and save Israel from invasion. 20 Menahem gathered the money from all the rich people in Israel. He took 20 ounces of silver from each person and gave it to the Assyrian king. After he had received all the money, the Assyrian king went back to Assyria.
Tiglath-pileser III is one of Assyria’s strongest kings. After seizing the throne during a civil war in 745 b.c., he sets out on a wildly successful campaign, enlarging Assyria’s sphere of influence from the northern part of the Northern Kingdom all the way to Babylon. As Assyria grows, its army grows because Tiglath-pileser incorporates the conquered people into his army. He cannot be stopped. He lays the groundwork for his son, Shalmaneser V, who will continue campaigning and actually conquer the Northern Kingdom, deporting Israelites to other parts of the Assyrian Empire.
21 Is not the rest of Menahem’s story—his actions and lasting legacy—documented in the book of the chronicles of Israel’s kings? 22 Menahem left this world to sleep with his fathers. Menahem’s son, Pekahiah, then inherited the throne.
23 During Azariah’s 50th year as king of Judah, Pekahiah (Menahem’s son) inherited the throne of Israel in Samaria, and his reign only lasted two years. 24 He committed evil in the Eternal’s eyes. He walked the wicked path of Jeroboam (Nebat’s son), causing the Israelites to live sinful lives. 25 Pekah (Remaliah’s son), one of Pekahiah’s officials, plotted against him in secret and killed him in Samaria, along with two of Pekahiah’s loyal bodyguards, Argob and Arieh. The killings took place in the palace citadel. The conspirator, Pekah, was joined by 50 Gileadites in his assassination of the king and two of his bodyguards. Pekah then took over the throne. 26 Is not the rest of Pekahiah’s story—his actions and lasting legacy—documented in the book of the chronicles of Israel’s kings?
27 During Azariah’s 52nd year as king of Judah, Pekah (Remaliah’s son) inherited Israel’s throne in Samaria. His reign lasted 20 years. 28 He committed evil in the Eternal’s eyes. He walked the wicked path of Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) causing the Israelites to live sinful lives.
29 During Pekah’s reign over Israel, Tiglath-pileser, the Assyrian king, took possession of Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, Galilee, and all of Naphtali; and he also took the inhabitants as captives and deported them to Assyria. 30 Hoshea (Elah’s son) secretly plotted against Pekah (Remaliah’s son) and assasinated him. Hoshea then took over the throne during the 20th year of the reign of Jotham (son of Azariah who was also known as Uzziah) in Judah.
31 Is not the rest of Pekah’s story—his actions and lasting legacy—documented in the book of the chronicles of Israel’s kings?
32 During the second year of Pekah (Remaliah’s son) the king in Israel, Jotham (son of Azariah who was also known as Uzziah) inherited the throne of Judah. 33 Jotham was 25 years old when he inherited the throne. His reign in Jerusalem lasted 16 years. His mother was Jerusha (Zadok’s daughter). 34 He did what was good in the Eternal’s eyes and followed the example of his father, Uzziah. 35 But the high places remained, though Jotham did not support them. Sacrifices were still offered and incense was still burned there by the people. He also constructed the upper gate of the Eternal’s house.
36 Is not the rest of Jotham’s story—his actions and lasting legacy—documented in the book of the chronicles of Judah’s kings? 37 During that time, the Eternal One dispatched Rezin (Aram’s king) and Pekah (Remaliah’s son) from Israel to wage war against Judah. 38 Jotham left this world to sleep with his fathers and was laid to rest in the city of David. His son, Ahaz, then inherited the throne.
16 During the 17th year of the reign of Pekah (Remaliah’s son) as king of Israel, Ahaz (Jotham’s son) inherited the throne in Judah. 2 Ahaz was 20 years old when he inherited the throne, and his reign in Jerusalem lasted 16 years. He did not do what was good in the eyes of the Eternal, his True God, unlike his ancestor, David. 3 He walked the wicked path of Israel’s kings, and he even made his own son go through the fire as a child sacrifice. He did this, modeling the abhorrent practices of nations whom the Eternal had exiled to make way for the Israelites. 4 He also offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on hills, and beneath every green tree.
5 Then Rezin, Aram’s king, and Pekah (Remaliah’s son and king of Israel) approached Jerusalem with one thing in mind—war.
Their goal is to get Judah to join them in an alliance against Assyria. This is known as the Syro-Ephraimite War.
They laid siege to Ahaz but were unsuccessful in defeating him. 6 Rezin, Aram’s king, brought Elath back into Aram’s possession. He drove out the Judeans who lived there. Arameans moved back to Elath and still live there today.
7 Ahaz dispatched messengers to Tiglath-pileser, Assyria’s king.
Ahaz: I am your servant and your son. I need your help now. Please rescue me from the grip of Aram’s king and Israel’s king. They are swarming against me at this very moment.
8 Ahaz then gathered up all the silver and gold in the Eternal’s temple and in the palace treasuries, and he gave it to Assyria’s king as a gift. 9 Assyria’s king received the gift and listened to the message. He responded by attacking and capturing Damascus, the capital of Aram. He exiled the inhabitants of Damascus to Kir, and he killed Rezin.
10 King Ahaz traveled to Damascus to meet with Assyria’s king, Tiglath-pileser. There he laid eyes upon the altar in Damascus so he sent renderings of the altar—its patterns and design—to the priest Urijah.
Ahaz is enamored with the Syrian altar and its design. He wants to build something just like it for the temple, possibly because the bronze altar at the Jerusalem temple is too small (1 Kings 8:64).
11 Urijah the priest then constructed an altar from the plans King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. Urijah made it an exact likeness, and he completed it before Ahaz returned from Damascus.
12 After his return from Damascus, Ahaz saw the new altar Urijah had constructed, walked up to it, and offered 13 burnt offerings, meal offerings, and drink offerings and anointed the altar with blood from the peace offerings as Solomon had done when he dedicated the first bronze altar. 14 He carried the bronze altar from the entryway of the temple to the north side of the new altar, so that it remained before the Eternal One.
Ahaz (to Urijah the priest): 15 Use the new and magnificent altar for both my offerings and the people’s offerings. The morning burnt offering and evening meal offering and the king’s burnt offering and meal offering, as well as the people’s burnt offering and meal offering and drink offerings, can go on the new altar, anointed with the blood of the burnt offering and sacrifice; but the bronze altar is only for me to pray. The people cannot use it ever.
16 Urijah the priest followed all of King Ahaz’s instructions.
17 Then King Ahaz severed the edges of the stands and took out the basins. He removed the basin from the bronze oxen beneath it and set it on a stone platform. 18 He also took out the Sabbath canopy that was constructed in the Eternal One’s temple and the outer entryway for the king because of Assyria’s king. 19 Is not the rest of Ahaz’s story—his actions and lasting legacy—documented in the book of the chronicles of Judah’s kings? 20 Ahaz left this world to sleep with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of David, as was tradition. His son, Hezekiah, then inherited the throne.
13-14 Some itinerant Jewish exorcists noticed Paul’s success in this regard, so they tried to use the name of Jesus, the King, in an exorcism they were performing.
Imagine this: There are seven of them, all sons of a Jewish chief priest named Sceva, gathered around a demonized man in a house.
One of the Jewish Exorcists: I command you to depart, by the Jesus proclaimed by Paul!
Evil Spirit: 15 Jesus I know. Paul I know. But who are you?
16 Then the man leaps up, attacks them all, rips off their clothing, and beats them so badly that they run out of the house stark naked and covered in bruises.
17 Word of this strange event spread throughout Ephesus among both Jews and Greeks. Everyone was shocked and realized that the name of Jesus was indeed powerful and praiseworthy. 18 As a result, a number of people involved in various occult practices came to faith. They confessed their secret practices and rituals. 19 Some of them had considerable libraries about their magic arts; they piled up their books and burned them publicly. Someone estimated the value of the books to be 50,000 silver coins. 20 Again, word spread, and the message of the Lord overcame resistance and spread powerfully.
21 Eventually Paul felt he should move on again. The Holy Spirit confirmed that he should first travel through Macedonia and Achaia and then return to Jerusalem.
Paul: I must eventually see Rome.
22 So he sent Timothy and Erastus, two of his helpers, ahead to Macedonia while he stayed a while longer in Asia. 23 It was during this time that a major incident occurred involving the Way.
In most cities, the Jews stand in opposition to the Way; but in this instance, the outsiders cause the disturbance.
24 An idol maker named Demetrius had a profitable business, for himself and for others, making silver shrines for Artemis (also known as Diana by the Romans), one of the deities worshiped in Ephesus.
25 Picture this: Demetrius calls a meeting of all the artisans who are similarly employed in idol making. Everyone in the idol industry comes together.
Demetrius: Men, we are all colleagues in this fine line of work. We’re making a good living doing what we’re doing. But we’d better wake up, or we’re all going to go broke.
26 You’ve heard about this fellow Paul. Here in Ephesus, he’s already convinced a large number of people to give up using idols. He tells them that our products are worthless. He’s been doing this same kind of thing almost everywhere in Asia. 27 It’s bad enough that he is slandering our fine and honorable profession, but do you see where this will lead? If his lies catch on, the temple of Artemis itself will be called a fraud. The great goddess of our region, the majestic deity who is revered here in Asia and around the world, will be disgraced.
28 The crowd goes wild with rage. They start chanting.
Crowd: Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!
29 Soon the whole city is filled with confusion, and a mob forms. They find Paul’s Macedonian travel companions, Gaius and Aristarchus, and drag them to the theater. 30 Paul wants to go confront the crowd and protect his friends, but the disciples hold him back. 31 Even some provincial officials of Asia who are friendly to Paul send him an urgent message, warning him to stay away from the theater.
32 Enraged voices are shouting on top of each other, some saying one thing, some saying something else. The crowd is completely out of control. Most of the people don’t even know what caused the commotion in the first place. 33 Some of the Jewish people push a man named Alexander to the front of the crowd, hoping he can calm the disturbance. He raises his hands to silence the crowd and gets a few sentences out; 34 but then the crowd realizes he’s a Jew, and once again they start chanting.
Crowd: Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!
For two solid hours they keep the chant going.
35 Finally the town clerk manages to calm the crowd.
Town Clerk: My fellow citizens of Ephesus, everyone in the world knows that our great city is the caretaker of the temple of Artemis! Everyone knows that we are the home of the great statue that fell from heaven! 36 Our status as the economic center of the idolmaking industry is not in danger, so please, calm down. Don’t do anything rash. 37 The men whom you have seized aren’t temple robbers, nor have they blasphemed our great goddess. 38 If Demetrius and the artisans who share his important trade have a legal complaint, don’t bring it here to the theater; take it to the courts—they’re open today. 39 If you need to charge someone with a crime or launch an inquiry, take the matter to the regional judges. 40 We need to do this according to regulations, or we’ll all be charged with rioting. This kind of behavior can’t be justified.
41 So he succeeds in dispersing the crowd.
Psalm 147
1 Praise the Eternal!
It is good to sing praises to our God,
for praise is beautiful and pleasant.
2 The Eternal, Architect of earth, is building Jerusalem,
finding the lost, gathering Israel’s outcasts.
3 He binds their wounds,
heals the sorrows of their hearts.
4 He counts all the stars within His hands,
carefully fixing their number
and giving them names.
5 Our Lord is great. Nothing is impossible with His overwhelming power.
He is loving, compassionate, and wise beyond all measure.
6 The Eternal will lift up the lowly
but throw down the wicked to the earth.
Psalm 147 is a postexilic hymn of praise to God as Creator and Sustainer. It celebrates the rebuilding of the walls and gates that protect Jerusalem. God secures the city, grants peace to the border towns, and controls the elements.
7 Open your mouths with thanks!
Sing praises to the Eternal!
Strum the harp in unending praise to our God
8 Who blankets the heavens with clouds,
sends rain to water the thirsty earth,
and pulls up each blade of grass upon the mountainside.
9 He opens His hands to feed all the animals
and scatters seed to nestlings when they cry.
10 He takes no pleasure in the raw strength of horses;
He finds no joy in the speed of the sprinter.
11 But the Eternal does take pleasure in those who worship Him,
those who invest hope in His unfailing love.
12 O Jerusalem, praise the Eternal!
O Zion, praise your God!
13 For His divine power reinforces your city gates,
blesses your children in the womb.
14 He establishes peace within your borders,
fills your markets with hearty golden wheat.
15 His command ripples across the earth;
His word runs out on swift feet.
16 He blankets the earth in wooly snow,
scattering frost like ashes over the land.
17 He throws down hail like stones falling from a mountain.
Can any withstand His wintry blast?
18 But He dispatches His word, and the thaw begins;
at His command, the spring winds blow, gently stirring the waters back to life.
19 He brings Jacob in on His plan, declaring His word—
His statutes and His teachings to Israel.
20 He has not treated any other nation in such a way;
they live unaware of His commands.
Praise the Eternal!
4 Words bubble up from waters deep within a person;
a stream gushes from the fountain of wisdom.
5 It is wrong for a judge to show partiality to the guilty
or to rob the innocent of justice.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.